Oxford Jewish Thought

Humility & Judaism: Jewish theology after the Holocaust

Thursday, February 16, 2017 - 4:30 PM

A principle of all religions is the virtue of humility. Humility is considered the foundation of all virtues. This appears to be the case also in Judaism as articulated in almost every text from the Bible to the 19^th century works of Chassidism. I would like to argue that while meekness, humility and lowliness of spirit is an all-important virtue in Judaism, in the second half of the 20^th century, after the Holocaust, this virtue appears to be reevaluated in Jewish theology as not a virtue as an end in itself but rather must be accompanied by a healthy pride enabling one to make the world a place for the in-dwelling of the Divine. This fundamental shift, I would like to suggest, is based not merely on a change in Jewish ethics but a subtle … Read More »

Ancient Jewish Coins at the Ashmolean Museum: The Tyrian Shekel

Friday, February 10, 2017 - 5:46 AM

Tyrian Shekel1.jpg One of the most precious items in the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford is an ancient silver Shekel of Tyre from the Second Temple period dated 64/3 BC, weighing 14.14g. On the obverse there is Laureate head or Heracles-Melqart wearing lion-skin around the neck and on the reverse there is an eagle standing with its foot on the beak of a ship. Over the eagle’s shoulder there is a plam-branch and to the left an upright club. The inscription on the coin states: ΤΥΡΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ (“of Tyre the Holy”), year 63. The comment by the Ashmolean museum related to the coin is[1]: Jewish temple tax paid with iconic coinage?